Off Broadway ‘Rent’ to close

Musical will shutter in September

The Off Broadway production of “Rent” has posted a closing notice, with the show now set to shutter at the end of the summer after a run of a bit more than a year.

The New World Stages incarnation of “Rent” is part of a recent trend that has seen Broadway properties extend their revenue potential by exiting the costly realm of the Rialto and re-opening Off Broadway, where production costs are cheaper.

Another Main Stem-to-New World transfer, “Million Dollar Quartet,” recently shuttered after a run there of about a year. The title that launched the trend, “Avenue Q,” is still playing at New World Stages, where it opened in late 2009 after a six-year run on Broadway.

Like “Avenue Q,” “Rent” could feasibly hope to attract tourist attention to its Off Broadway incarnation thanks to the profile established by the show’s Tony-winning Rialto run and its national tours.

Production will stick it out through the summer, when the seasonal tourism influx boosts B.O. both on Broadway and off it. Show will shutter Sept. 9, right around the time of the back-to-school sales drop that hits the legit industry every year in early fall.